Faces were an early 1970s rock band formed in 1969 from the remaining membe… Read Full Bio ↴Faces were an early 1970s rock band formed in 1969 from the remaining members of Small Faces after Steve Marriott left to form Humble Pie; new members Ron Wood (guitar) and Rod Stewart (vocals) (both from The Jeff Beck Group) joined Ronnie Lane (bass), Ian McLagan (keyboards) and Kenny Jones (drums). The name The Faces refers to well known people about town, and the band's previous incarnation as the Small Faces also referred to the diminutive stature of the band members. With the addition of Rod Stewart (5'8") and Ron Wood (5'9") the band dropped the "small" but continued as the Faces. However their first album was actually released in the U.S. under the name Small Faces due to a mistake by their record company.

There are more than one act with this name:
2) hip hop project of kasey karrer + roman luna
http://sewagetapes.bandcamp.com/album/prototype

3) 1970s Nigerian afrobeat funk band

4) rapper, member of .Cult

Too Bad
Faces Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Too bad we was thrown downstairs
You never got a chance to sing
We were quite polite
With one invite
To keep us off the street
So we mingled for a minute or two
With the high class clientele
And then somebody said who invited them

That crowd of refugees, too bad

What an insult to be shown the door
Before we could shake a leg
I was most intrigued by the colored queen
Leaning on the kitchen door
Then I was ushered with my friends
By the butler who was twelve feet tall
But let me please explain
'Cause we're not to blame
We just don't have the right accent
No, no, woo

All we wanted to do, was to socialize
Oh you know its a shame
I was always getting the pain

All we wanted to do, was to socialize
Oh you know its a shame
How we always get the blame

Twenty girls, damp hotels
Is where I'm gonna stay
'Cause now I see what it's all about
I didn't at the old school side
Don't worry we had more fun
Waiting for the all night bus, oh

Too bad my regional tongue
Gave us away again

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to the Faces’ song ‘Too Bad’ explores the theme of exclusion and social class divides. The singer describes being thrown down a flight of stairs and showed the door before being given a chance to socialize or sing. The referent of ‘we’ in the song is a group of people that doesn't belong to the high-class society they found themselves in. They were only given one invite to keep them off the street hence making them feel like makeshift guests. It’s clear that this group doesn't have the right accent and feel out of place, as evidenced in the line, ‘we were quite polite, with one invite, to keep us off the street’. What’s interesting about the lyrics is that despite not fitting in, the singer is more intrigued by the colorful Queen leaning on the kitchen door.

In the chorus of the song, the singer finds it unfair they were shown the door before they could ‘socialize and shake a leg’ as they had intended. They feel that they always get the blame and that it's a shame how they are socially excluded. Although they didn't have a good time at the party, they found a way of making their time worth it, as evidenced in the line ‘don’t worry, we had more fun waiting for the all-night bus’. The song implies that no matter how hard one tries, their accent or social background can often determine their social status, leading to exclusion and discrimination.

Line by Line Meaning

Too bad we was thrown downstairs
We were sadly ousted from the party

You never got a chance to sing
We didn't even get to perform despite our politeness

We were quite polite
We were well-behaved guests

With one invite
We only received a single invitation

To keep us off the street
Perhaps, the host invited us to prevent us from loitering outside

So we mingled for a minute or two
We socialized briefly before things took a bad turn

With the high class clientele
We rubbed shoulders with the elite crowd

And then somebody said who invited them
Someone pointed out our presence and questioned our invitation

That crowd of refugees, too bad
We were described as unfortunate and unwanted guests

What an insult to be shown the door
It was humiliating to be kicked out unceremoniously

Before we could shake a leg
We didn't even get a chance to dance

I was most intrigued by the colored queen
We were captivated by the charm of the person of color standing by the kitchen door

Leaning on the kitchen door
The person was casually positioned by the kitchen entrance

Then I was ushered with my friends
We were escorted out of the venue with our group

By the butler who was twelve feet tall
The man responsible for escorting us was quite imposing

But let me please explain
We are trying to justify our presence at the gathering

'Cause we're not to blame
We argue that we weren't at fault

We just don't have the right accent
Our manner of speaking is causing us to be ostracized

All we wanted to do, was to socialize
We just wanted to mingle with others

Oh you know its a shame
It's really unfortunate

I was always getting the pain
We were experiencing pain and hardship as outsiders

Twenty girls, damp hotels
We're willing to settle for second-rate accommodation and company

Is where I'm gonna stay
We don't mind staying in inexpensive places

Cause now I see what it's all about
We have come to understand how complicared socializing can be

I didn't at the old school side
We were naive when it came to traditional socializing

Don't worry we had more fun
We found our own way of having a good time

Waiting for the all night bus, oh
We would rather spend the night waiting for transport home than face social rejection again

Too bad my regional tongue
Our particular accent gave us away and caused us to be unwelcome again

Gave us away again
Our natural way of speaking revealed our outsider status yet again

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROD STEWART, RON WOOD

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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